Umm, You're Driving on the Wrong Side of the Road!

On Friday the 22nd, I headed out on yet another solo adventure.  I went to Glasgow, Scotland to stay with Jason for 6 days!  Jason was a German exchange student at my high school my junior year.  He has been back to the states twice since then and is really great at keeping in touch with people.  So I knew I had to go visit him, and when I saw I had a reallllly long weekend, I booked my trip!  One of my flights only cost around $10!  On my way there, I have never used so many means of transportation in one day...or even a week!  I took the subway to downtown Oslo, caught my train, rode a shuttle bus to the airport, flew to the UK, another bus, and Jason's Dad picked me up at the station in a car.  BEAT THAT!  I was nervous to meet Jason's family...but when his dad showed up, he was drunk and I could see his tattoos.  Immediate relief :)  They were awesome!

The airport I flew from was really small, so it was easy to navigate.  I'm getting much better at doing this all by myself!  I hate that RyanAir is first come, first serve for seating, some people got a little crabby...I didn't care.  My first flight, there was a group of 17 guys heading to Edinburgh for the weekend to party.  Needless to say, they were well on their way before we left.  They were singing songs on the plane and at one point, someone came on the speaker and said "Boys, you have beautiful voices, but for the sake of the passengers and crew, please quite down."  It was hilarious!

I arrived in the pouring rain, late at night, and found my bus.  When I had to transfer and cross the street, I was like..."Whyyy are they driving on the wrong side of the road?!"  DUH!  I made it to the station after about an hour and got a hold of Jason's Dad and sister, Selina.  They were having troubles finding it, but after about a half hour, they found it and picked me up.  They had been waiting at the pub that Jason works at now.  They were sooo nice, and Selina spent the weekend with us at Jason's.  She's a crazy little chica, but I loved her, she's my new unofficial little sister!  Friday night Jason worked late, so we just relaxed and chatted a bit.  He had to work and go to class quite a bit while I was there, but luckily his roomies and sister were really fun. 

Saturday night we went out to The Garage (the pronounced it like gayr-ij haha).  It was a huge place with pretty good music.  We spend most of our night on the stage dancing our butts off with each other.  It was really nice to be in a club and not have to worry about creepy old guys being all over you, such an improvement from Minneapolis or Fargo!  That didn't stop Selina from almost beating some guy up, and me getting hit in the face because I was close to another fight...ahh the adventures!  We stayed out pretty late and Jason was thrilled when we came home being loud after he had worked all night.  It definitely is true about Scottish people drinking a lot, and often! 

Boarder's Paradise.

After a fairly stressful night and getting much needed sleep, I set out one afternoon last week to relieve a little stress.  There are always guys skateboarding at City Hall in Oslo and I have always wanted to go there and do some photography.  I love photography and used to think it would be neat to do it for extreme sports.  So I finally did it!  I was at City Hall for over 2 hours and came home with over 200 pictures.  Towards the end, they were lining up and doing runs right in front of me so that I could get better pictures :)  Here are some of my favorites...feel free to comment.

I Get It Now.

I am really starting to love it here in Norway.  Time is going SO fast (just like everyone says it does).  The more people I meet and the more places I see make it hard to think about going back to my seemingly boring life in Minnesota.  I have realized that I love seeing, eating, trying, and learning new things...  I almost feel like a new person, and I don't want to fall back into my old life when I get back.  I need a change when I get home!!  I am thinking of moving out to Colorado with my brother after graduation to see what happens!

I have a friend who has studied abroad three times, and when I got here, I told her she was absolutely crazy...but now, I GET IT!  Studying in another country is absolutely AMAZING!  I am so glad that I really pushed myself into this opportunity.  I was so comfortable at home, but knew I needed to do something before I graduated and became a "big girl".   For some reason, I ended up in Norway, and I am so lucky to have met some of the people I have.  Currently...it makes me more sad to think about leaving them all here than thinking about the people I miss back home.  I will absolutely come back to Norway some day...hopefully soon!

Evenstad...Just Like Home

On Friday, October 15th, I got up really early to head into the city and catch my train to EVENSTAD!  Jordan Lutz (who I worked with for 2 years at Phonathon) and Rachel Ward are also students from Concordia studying in Norway.  Except, they live in the middle of nowhere!  Good thing for me, I had been craving the country for a while.  I love living in Oslo because there is lots to do, but being from a super small town, I was getting a little stir crazy and had the need for some nature.  After about 3 hours, I saw Jordan's lovely face waiting for me at the little train stop.  We made the short, cold walk to their campus.  It essentially looks like a farm, the buildings look older, and there were dogs and horses.  It felt amazing to breathe fresh air! 

We chatted a bit, and went to get some lunch.  Rachel and I shared a moose burger, absolutely delicious!  Apparently on Fridays at 2pm, there are free waffles, so we hit those up as well...but with sour cream and jam.  It sounds awful, but it tastes amazing, yummm!  It was really nice to talk about Concordia, reflect on our time so far in Norway, and just talk in normal English.  Jordan had bought supplies to make wine, so while Rachel did some studying, we started making a batch.  I haven't yet heard how it turned out!  Later on, Jordan, Dan, and I headed over to Kjetil's place for a Norwegian dinner he had made.  Since it was herring (YUCK!) I just went for the company and reggae music.  I asked if he was half Jamaican...when I met him he was wearing Bob Marley and constantly said "Ya Mon".  Kjetil is a super blunt and harsh person, I loved it.  We got along really well giving each other crap, it was nice to have someone who can handle my attitude. 

That night was the Halloween party at their student pub.  We got dressed up as our alter egos: girly girl, ballerina, and shadow, and had a few drinks before heading over.  The pub is small and cozy with a pool table and couches and the "bartenders" are students.  Some people hardly recognized me in my straight hair and a dress!  We had a really fun time dancing and playing cards and pool.  I tried Karsk (their moonshine and coffee), it was awful.  When I went back to Rachel's room after 4am, there were still people dancing and drinking the night away! 

Saturday night we went to a birthday party down the hall for Silje and Gabrielle.  There were delicious baked goods from Gabrielle and we played SingStar.  Blue team rocked the house!  Sadly, trying to sing in Norwegian did not improve my language skills at all :(  Afterwards we watched a bit of "Robin Hood, Men in Tights" and headed to bed because Rachel and I knew we would talk and be up forever anyways!  We did...even though this was our first time meeting in person, it felt like we had been friends for a long time.  Her and Jordan were so kind to me and we all got along fabulously. 

Sunday morning Jordan made us crepes for breakfast and we had lunch right after!  Ricardo's family made a Portuguese meal of beans and sausage for about 14 people.  It wasn't my favorite, but it was tasty and had PROTEIN which I am definitely not getting enough of over here.  I also gave Jordan a haircut (with the help of Dan) and it turned out to be pretty decent!  *At this point I have given 2 haircuts and done one coloring..Maybe hair is my secret calling?*  Before I left, I got a hug from Eirik when he got home from moose hunting...nothing like hugging a guy carrying a gun to bring your mind back to good old Litchfield, MN.  He was the one who stayed up with me until 4 am Friday night even though he had to be up really early for work the next day, what a trooper!  I left that evening at about 6:30 and got back to my place in Oslo pretty late.  I had an awesome time in redneck Norway and I would love to try to get back before I go back to the states!  I met some really great people and I have a feeling I will get the urge to get out of Oslo again!

Lost in Larvik?

After my mom and grandma left, I was absolutely exhausted, but luckily we had a break from school that week, so I had time to relax and reflect.  I mainly lounged around, did laundry, and somehow managed to accomplish NO schoolwork...somehow.  Friday (October 8th) Anette and I invited Susanne over for dinner.  We made a Chinese Wok, which turned out really yummy, and had ice cream for dessert!  Anette and I are still working on our rice making skills though, but we'll get there ;)

On Saturday, we decided that we wanted to get out of Oslo.  Filip was once again our tour guide, and our floormate Henny joined us on our bus trip.  We rode for about 2 hours, to Tønsberg, which is south of Oslo.  It is a very old city with lots of character.  We walked along the sea and saw LOTS of jellyfish :) ...got some postcards, which took Anette FOREVER to choose, saw old homes, and what is left of a castle there from the year 871.  It was a really beautiful and relaxing city.  I had my first McDonald's so far in Norway, and we ate by the water...only to get realllly uncomfortable when  the seagulls started to swarm!  Anette tried to make healthy choices, but totally crumbled when she saw our yummy burgers and fries, so she ended up going BACK to McDonald's...hilarious!  


When we decided we weren't quite ready to head back to Oslo, that the day was beautiful, and that we were only "30 minutes" from Filip's hometown, we decided to catch another bus to Larvik.  Wellll...we got the bus that went through the countryside, and not on the highway, so it ended up being a 2 hour bus ride.  Quite disappointing, haha, but it was an adventure!!  We made it worth it.  We saw a few sights, breathed in the fresh air, and ended up at a delicious Chinese restaurant.  So good to eat some REAL FOOD because more often than not at home I don't make myself a real meal...  Then we had to find our way back to Oslo.  After asking a few people and finding a bus schedule, we realized that the last bus had left over 2 hours earlier, whoops!  So we bought more expensive train tickets that left pretty late at night and headed to a gas station to entertain ourselves for a bit. 

Then we had to stay awake the whole train ride home so we wouldn't miss our stop, even though we were all exhausted after our long day outside.  Luckily we had Henny's I-Pod and had a dance party, even one of the workers on the train joined in a bit, and she was really nice to us every time she came by.  When we finally got back, after 11 pm, Sebastien was so nice to come pick us all up and bring us back to the school.  


It was a fun day, being spontaneous every now and then is interesting! 
                           

Ekkstra Specialll

So since it's been almost a week since Mom and Grandma left, and I'm trying to remember everything, and it's late at night and I'm absolutely loopy...this is a mini-blog about all the little things I forgot!  Friday (the day after Mom and Gma arrived) we decided to make dinner together at my "dorm".  I figured before all of the sightseeing got us tired out we would make our own dinner.  We made tacos!  And Grandma says "I've never had a taco."  Like, WHAT?!  She said that Grandpa doesn't like tacos so they've never eaten them.  Crazy talk!  And she enjoyed them too :) 

After cleaning up and doing the dishes, I invited Aleks over to meet them.  I had been telling the boys that my Mom and Gma love to joke and will give them crap right back if anyone gets smart with them.  I think they thought I was joking...until we had the most fun night EVER!  Aleks was a little scared to meet them, but warmed up right away, and eventually Espen joined us in my room.  It was one of the most fun times I've had in Oslo so far.   They all got along so well, and there was a roar of laughter coming from my room until past midnight!  That's when we realized we HAD to get them back to the hotel.  Luckily we caught the last subway, but that left Aleks and I to walk all the way back across the city...at 2 in the morning on a Friday, completely sober.  We had quite the adventure and ended up getting to bed at around 3:30 am.  Now at least we can say that we did it!

Also, I talked about the restaurant right by their hotel.  We ate there four times.  We had pasta, pizza, kabobs, appetizers...and EVERYTHING was delicious, and CHEAP!  The same guy was working there every night and he was so nice to us!  The last night we went, Mom brought the camera and we took a picture with him.  How nerdy are we?  The kid who took it was laughing at us...but the worker just put his arms out and was all ready for the picture!  He said he wanted to move back the the US (he had visited New York) but needed to tie up some work things before he did.  He was a really nice guy and I will definitely be bringing them more business!

I think that MIGHT sum up their visit.  It was absolutely amazing to have my family visit me in Norway.  This trip is one thing that none of us will ever forget.  I am SO lucky to have had visitors here.  The airport was hard, Mom said it was harder to leave Norway then when I left Minnesota :(  But I'm only growing and this is literally a once in a lifetime opportunity.  I'm trying to take it all in!  Mom...."I'm a big girl now." and I'll be home in 2 months! 

Open "Late".

There were a few places that WERE open after 4pm, and after missing Akershus Castle the first day of Oslo Pass sight-seeing, we made sure to see it on Sunday.  Akershus is an old fortress right on the water, and it is also and old castle.  Some events are still held in the HUGE rooms there, and it is open to the public to walk through.  There were dining rooms, living rooms, the dungeon, the chapel, and others.  Everything was really beautiful, most rooms had huge tapestries hanging on the walls, lots of old chairs, and beautiful artwork.  I think I've figured out that Norwegians like to carve wood (?), because every little inch (even in the ceiling) is carved.   Also a little eerie is that the sarcophaguses of the older members of the royal family are in the castle and you can look at them. 

After the castle we went back out into the pouring rain and walked the small jaunt to City Hall.  I haven't been inside yet, and I am glad we went...it was beautiful!  You walk in and BAM there is a huge open room and 2 enormous frescoes on either end.  The floor, ceiling, staircase, walls...all breathtaking.  The artwork in this place is like nothing I have ever seen.  Each room we entered was a whole new experience.  All I could think about was our little Litchfield City Hall, which is basically a prefabricated shed :(  City Hall is where they present the Nobel Peace Prize, as well as hold court hearings and other "fun" stuff.  There are even huge sculpture/carvings on the outside walls as you walk into the building.  

I think Sunday was the night we had kebab for dinner.  Mom and I took Gma's credit card to get food and bring it back to the hotel to eat.  We took the tram one stop and walked about a block to the place.  I had English word vomit and COULD NOT order the damn food, even though I've been there before...super embarrassing!  When I realized we didn't bring our transit passes, I said we should walk home.  To our surprise, we were literally like one block from the hotel...WOW, blonde moment!  We laughed pretty hard!  

Monday we had a "Boy's Date" with Espen and Filip (Aleks had to work, boo!) and went to the LazyBoyz Harley Dealership and the Opera House.  It was a long bus ride to the Harley shop, and we passed the Hell's Angels clubhouse on the way.  We had a fun time looking at bikes there, Espen wants a chopper, but first he's gotta learn to ride when they come visit me in the states!  Mom got pins for some FOA members and after looking at some more used bikes in the back, we headed back to the city center.  The bus was kinda of full, so Espen and I went wayyy to the back (expecting Filip to follow), but Filip ended up with Mom and Gma...so cute!


We checked out the Opera House and walked all the way to the top.  Mom and Grandma really liked it.  We were chatting away on the top for about 20-30 minutes when all of the sudden Espen goes "Where's Grandma?"...FUNNIEST thing ever!  She had walked all the way down, and inside, to get water to take her medication and Espen was the first one to notice, haha!  

We followed her in and the boys said goodbye to go work out.  We had a small snack, picked up some souvenirs, and headed home.  The next day Mom was whining to go out of town and see Holmenkollen.  Lucky for us...it was under construction!!  I swear, construction never leaves me alone, even in Norway, it's insane!  So we didn't get to walk up to the ski jump, we could only look at it from outside a fence.  But Mom still got to see it!  

We polished off Tuesday by doing some shopping downtown in OsloCity, a big mall.  Grandma came away with some clothes, and I almost splurged on  some bad ass boots, but I couldn't do it!  Luckily since Mom had brought me so much FOOD, they had room in their suitcases for all the gifts that Grandma had bought while being here :)